Canadian farmers battle avian flu as bird death toll hits 1.7 million
CALGARY — Canadian poultry and egg producers have now lost more than 1.7 million farmed birds to a highly contagious strain of avian influenza.
The latest numbers are provided by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which says the tally includes both birds that have died of the virus and birds that have been humanely euthanized to prevent the disease's spread.
Alberta is the hardest hit province, with 900,000 birds dead and 23 farms affected.
Ontario is the second hardest hit, with 23 affected farms and 425,000 birds dead.
The strain of avian influenza currently affecting chicken and turkey farmers throughout North America can be spread easily by both wild and domestic birds.
Farmers are being encouraged to keep birds indoors, restrict visitors and ramp up biosecurity measures to help halt the spread.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2022.
Related video: New B.C. avian flu cases highlight the risk to backyard flocks (Global News)
CALGARY — Canadian poultry and egg producers have now lost more than 1.7 million farmed birds to a highly contagious strain of avian influenza.
The latest numbers are provided by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which says the tally includes both birds that have died of the virus and birds that have been humanely euthanized to prevent the disease's spread.
Alberta is the hardest hit province, with 900,000 birds dead and 23 farms affected.
Ontario is the second hardest hit, with 23 affected farms and 425,000 birds dead.
The strain of avian influenza currently affecting chicken and turkey farmers throughout North America can be spread easily by both wild and domestic birds.
Farmers are being encouraged to keep birds indoors, restrict visitors and ramp up biosecurity measures to help halt the spread.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2022.
Related video: New B.C. avian flu cases highlight the risk to backyard flocks (Global News)
British Columbians asked to remove bird feeders due to avian flu outbreak
The virus sweeping across North America was first found in B.C. at a commercial poultry producer in the North Okanagan last month. It has since been detected in two other small poultry flocks in Kelowna and the Kootenays.
“Bird feeders can be sites for disease spread because they encourage unnatural congregations of birds and attract other wildlife,” Dr. Andrea Wallace, manager of wild animal welfare for the BC SPCA, said in a release.
“Fallen seed is also an especially dangerous source of disease - when birds feed from the ground, they are also exposed to droppings that accumulate below a feeder.” She says the presence of bird feeders and baths can also increase the risk of transmitting the virus between nearby animals such as backyard chickens or turkeys.
“On rare occasions, this virus can also cause disease in humans who have been in close contact with infected birds, or heavily contaminated areas,” Wallace added. “We need to do everything we can to stop H5N1 in its tracks.”
Wallace says that, in addition to removing bird feeders and emptying birdbaths, the BC SPCA is asking the public to monitor their outdoor surroundings for any signs of sick birds. “Birds may appear lethargic, unusually “fluffed up,” have nasal discharge, or have excessively watery eyes or swelling of the head and eyelids," she said.
The public is asked to report sightings of sick or dead wild birds to the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC) at 1-800-567-2033. If the report is assessed to require further investigation, a biologist may retrieve the carcass for further testing. “Please do not bring deceased birds to a wildlife rehabilitation centre or veterinary clinic as they will not be able to test for the disease,” Wallace added.
The BC SPCA said it is not necessary to remove hummingbird feeders at this time but it is important to regularly change the nectar and clean them to prevent deadly fungal outbreaks. However, if the public sees sick birds at the feeder they should remove it immediately.
Amy Judd - Yesterday 10:26 a.m.
Global News
New B.C. avian flu cases highlight the risk to backyard flocks
The BC SPCA is asking the public to temporarily remove backyard bird feeders and to empty bird baths due to the avian flu outbreak spreading across the country.
The organization said although waterfowl, such as ducks, geese and gulls, and raptors including eagles, hawks and owls are at the highest risk of avian influenza, or bird flu, it can infect all birds.
It is considered highly contagious and is spread through infected birds through feces and respiratory secretions. The BC SPCA said the virus is also resilient and can survive in the environment for several months.
On Wednesday, officials said they have detected avian flu in two more B.C. small poultry flocks.
Read more:
Bird flu confirmed in 2 more B.C. small poultry flocks in Richmond, Kelowna
The B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Food said the H5N1 avian influenza virus was most recently confirmed among small poultry flocks in Richmond and Kelowna.
The infected premises have been placed under quarantine by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and the ministry said producers within a 12-kilometre radius have been informed.
The poultry are believed to have contracted the virus through contact with infected migrating wild birds.
Global News
New B.C. avian flu cases highlight the risk to backyard flocks
The BC SPCA is asking the public to temporarily remove backyard bird feeders and to empty bird baths due to the avian flu outbreak spreading across the country.
The organization said although waterfowl, such as ducks, geese and gulls, and raptors including eagles, hawks and owls are at the highest risk of avian influenza, or bird flu, it can infect all birds.
It is considered highly contagious and is spread through infected birds through feces and respiratory secretions. The BC SPCA said the virus is also resilient and can survive in the environment for several months.
On Wednesday, officials said they have detected avian flu in two more B.C. small poultry flocks.
Read more:
Bird flu confirmed in 2 more B.C. small poultry flocks in Richmond, Kelowna
The B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Food said the H5N1 avian influenza virus was most recently confirmed among small poultry flocks in Richmond and Kelowna.
The infected premises have been placed under quarantine by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and the ministry said producers within a 12-kilometre radius have been informed.
The poultry are believed to have contracted the virus through contact with infected migrating wild birds.
The virus sweeping across North America was first found in B.C. at a commercial poultry producer in the North Okanagan last month. It has since been detected in two other small poultry flocks in Kelowna and the Kootenays.
“Bird feeders can be sites for disease spread because they encourage unnatural congregations of birds and attract other wildlife,” Dr. Andrea Wallace, manager of wild animal welfare for the BC SPCA, said in a release.
“Fallen seed is also an especially dangerous source of disease - when birds feed from the ground, they are also exposed to droppings that accumulate below a feeder.” She says the presence of bird feeders and baths can also increase the risk of transmitting the virus between nearby animals such as backyard chickens or turkeys.
Read more:
“On rare occasions, this virus can also cause disease in humans who have been in close contact with infected birds, or heavily contaminated areas,” Wallace added. “We need to do everything we can to stop H5N1 in its tracks.”
Wallace says that, in addition to removing bird feeders and emptying birdbaths, the BC SPCA is asking the public to monitor their outdoor surroundings for any signs of sick birds. “Birds may appear lethargic, unusually “fluffed up,” have nasal discharge, or have excessively watery eyes or swelling of the head and eyelids," she said.
The public is asked to report sightings of sick or dead wild birds to the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC) at 1-800-567-2033. If the report is assessed to require further investigation, a biologist may retrieve the carcass for further testing. “Please do not bring deceased birds to a wildlife rehabilitation centre or veterinary clinic as they will not be able to test for the disease,” Wallace added.
The BC SPCA said it is not necessary to remove hummingbird feeders at this time but it is important to regularly change the nectar and clean them to prevent deadly fungal outbreaks. However, if the public sees sick birds at the feeder they should remove it immediately.
BC
Deadly avian flu wipes out Burton poultry flockPeggy Ife knew something was wrong the moment she walked into the chicken run on her Burton area farm on April 21.
“We saw a [dead] bird here and a bird there, about five or six,” she said. “We thought something had got into the yard. And we found a hole in the fence. So we thought that was it. We cleaned up the birds and put the others back in the coop.”
But the next day the birds were still exhibiting stress signs – some showed no interest in eating, or were huddled in corners of the coop.
“I knew something was wrong,” she says. “I call them ‘my girls’ – I spend enough time with my kids.”
Then more started dying.
“Friday night I found a couple on the floor that didn’t look right, and I thought, OK, this seems to be going past the ‘stress’ phase,” Ife recalls. “Then they started dropping, literally, dead.”
By the time the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) inspectors arrived the next Monday morning, she had lost nearly 60 of her 70 birds.
It’s not been an easy time, and having to cull her whole flock is “devastating.”
“I’ve had birds since 2006. One that just passed away was born here in 2012. I have a goose that’s 14. My kids usually die of old age,” she says.
The inspectors arrived (“Really nice people, lots of information,” she says) and sampled her birds. A few days later, she received the news: her birds had H5N1, the virulent strain of avian flu.
Ife’s handful of remaining birds had to be put down, as a measure to stop the spread of the virus to more areas.
“My husband keeps looking at me, to see if I’m okay,” Ife told the Valley Voice the day before she received the news. “I’m hanging in there, but the more I think of what is going to happen – I’m sorry, when the time comes, I cannot be the one to put my babies down.”
Ife put her story on several community Facebook pages, and word spread to hundreds of backyard poultry keepers in the Valley Voice readership area to be on the lookout for avian influenza.
Avian influenza or ‘bird flu,’ is a contagious and lethal virus that can make birds sick or die. There are two strains of the disease, one mild and one virulent. Ife’s flock caught the latter, H5N1, thought to be coming north with the spring migration of wild birds.
Ife says she suspects that’s how her birds caught it.
“My wild bird feeders were all empty for a few weeks, so I decided to be nice, and fill them to feed the wild birds. And I have a lot of feeders,” she says.
Agricultural officials are urging owners of small or backyard flocks to continue to be vigilant and have appropriate preventative measures in place.
“Measures include eliminating or reducing opportunities for poultry to encounter wild birds, reducing human access to the flock, and increased cleaning, disinfection, and sanitization of all things (including clothing and footwear) when entering areas where flocks are housed,” the CFIA recommends.
Ife’s flock is not the only case of avian flu in BC. CFIA officials announced a week earlier a confirmed case in a backyard poultry flock in Kelowna. A dead bald eagle was also found in the Lower Mainland.
That’s where the biggest concern lies – the lower Fraser Valley is home to the province’s chicken industry. The last time avian flu swept through there, in 2004, 17 million birds had to be culled to save the industry.
Avian influenza is rare in humans and generally does not spread easily between people.
“During an outbreak of avian influenza in poultry, the risk to the general public is very low,” says the CFIA. “Most avian influenza viruses cannot spread easily from birds to people, or from person to person. However, any new influenza virus in the human population is a concern because of its potential to change and adapt for more easy transmission between people.”
In the meantime, Ife is pleading with her fellow poultry keepers in the region to do the right thing: remove sources of interaction between wild and domestic birds, and report any dead wild birds they may spot.
“If you have wild bird feeders, take them down,” she says. “If you want to free-range, there’s always the chance they will catch something. But if you have a run, make sure you have no bird feeders, and if you feed yours outside, make sure they clean it up before the wild birds come in. Bring your birds’ water source inside.”
While being ordered to cull her birds is hard, Ife says she did the right thing by reporting it.
“I understand why people wouldn’t want to report, because of that,” she says. “But if they don’t know where it’s happening, they can’t stop its spread.”
John Boivin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Valley Voice
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